kevs91's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Let's Move It!!!]

Pretty good for a first try.

This really isn't too bad, especially for a first effort.

There are some interesting sounds, and a pretty intense but repetitive rhythm.
The layering was really exceptional for most of the time-the heavy parts with tonnes of layers were the best parts of the track, by a long distance.

Other times, though, it seemed like you relied a bit too much on generic sounding synths or clichéd robotvoices to try and keep it interesting when really they had the opposite effect.

You've got alot more talent than most people when they start out, so I'd hate to see you turn into another maker of generic sounding, repetitive techno- which you come dangerously close to doing alot with this track. So take some time to really experiment with your sounds and structure, keep it diverse, and always be sure to be original. That's pretty much all the advice I've got.

Anyways, a very solid effort here, so good job, and keep it up.

If you have the time, would you kindly stop by my audio page and review my newest track, "Maybe We'll Find Retribution"? I'd appreciate it very much, thanks.

And you can find it here: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/view.php?id=1450070">http:
//www.newgrounds.com/audio/view.php?id=1450070

Gabber-God responds:

Thanks man!

I worked my ass off on this song! I totally agree with everything you just said! I'll try to make something more "Fuller" and stuff.

Thanks for the constructive criticism !

[this song doesn't have a title]

niether does this review!

sorry for the lame joke.

anyways, this piece isn't very good.

one thing i did like was the hat-it was cool sounding and really formed a good rhythm force for the song, whether it was going super fast or slower.

there were a buncha problems, in my opinion. there was at least one point where the stronger percussion was off beat.
the punchy bass sound was also pretty corny and annoying. the same can be said for the faster synths-very preset sounding, very repetitive, and just not all that interesting.

it sounds like you had an idea of what a trance song is "supposed" to sound like, and it seemed like you afraid to deviate from the norm or experiment at all.

still, there was a pretty clear effort to change things up, which is pretty exceptional. so there was some clear effort, even if it didn't seem like you spent a lot of time on this.

so keep it up, and if you have the time, stop by my page and review my newest track, "Maybe We'll Find Retribution", if you don't mind. i'd really appreciate it, thanks.

bibotheking responds:

thx for the advice, but i did not notice any percussion off-beat? some of the percussion was on the afterbeat, but not off-beat...

[I Don't Love You]

a good effort

this is a pretty good, interesting piece.

the pulsing synth to drive the rhythm in the beginning was a very good decision, and really suited the song.
the inclusion of the piano behind the synth voices was also a good choice-it made it less random when the track turned into a very piano driven piece later on.
overall, this piece is very well composed aside from a few piano complaints, so keep that up.

my main problem with this piece is that it doesn't really sound different or special. alot of the voices-percussion especially-sounded like preset sounds. there was nothing in this track that really distinguished it from most of the stuff on this site.
the piano sometimes is a little random sounding, and there were a couple times that it was completely off beat. the chord choices were also a bit questionable, at times.
for such a lengthy track, it doesn't really change up enough to hold my attention, at least. the percussion is the worst offender here, as it often is in these types of songs.

so overall, this is pretty well written, but is repetitive, sometimes questionable sounding, and never really original sounding. still, it would seem like you are new at this, so keep working at it.

if you have the time, could you stop by my page and leave a review for my newest track, "Maybe We'll Find Retribution"? i'd appreciate it, thanks.

Dexi responds:

I'd love to review your track. Thanks for the review. I'll keep that in mind when I make more tracks for NG.

[C'mon]

pretty good, but a couple things

first off, i really loved the little panning bit for the main melody (how it'd do the melody bit, then the note in the left speaker, then the note in the right). great work on that. the percussion wasn't original, but it was pretty good.

the background pads were awful though, in that they pretty much just went from a bar or two in the beginning to the very end, aside from the little breakdowns, droning on monotonously even though it really coulda sufficed to not have them there at all. they seemed completely outside of the rest of the song, and they were mindnumbingly repetitive. i'd suggest changing those.

the little techno breakdown bits were pretty bad as well. they sounded like garageband preset loops, and they disrupted a track that otherwise had a really nice sense of rhythm and flow. it was ok sounding when the track continued on top of that synthy thing, but by itself it was really pretty bad.

the second techno breakdown was pretty bad as well-it retained that garageband preset sound, and the transition wasn't handled very well that time around either. for both breakdowns, you can't just have all the other sounds stop--there really has to be some resonance.

the track also didn't really go anywhere-the structure seemed overly simplistic (main song-breakdown-song+breakdown-breakdown-ending) and there wasn't any big buildup, and the ending wasn't great.

still, the main song part, although repetitive, was good, and went well with the percussion. it would be interesting if you redid this track keeping that melody intact-maybe varying it up a bit more-and keeping the percussion elements, leaving out those pads and the techno-y breakdowns and adding some interesting synth doodles or whatever. so a pretty good job, especially for your first in a genre.

if you get the time, check out my most recent track and leave a review, if you don't mind.

Logini responds:

Now THATS what i call a review!! :):):) i agree with everything you said. I don't really know anything about hip-hop, so i listened to a few NG songs before i made this. Sorry about the structure, I had a synth solo, but it was 20+ seconds long and if i shortened it, it sounded terrible. the techno breakdowns were so the melody didn't get too repetitive. I guess it's kinda hard to explain... Oh well. if i remake this song, i'll keep the techno breakdowns out. I'll definitely check out your newest track and much more songs of yours. I REALLY appreciate this.

[Diamond Rimz]

not a typical hip-hop track

i can see the hip-hop elements here-the big bass, snappy percussion, the danceable parts.
but this also had that upbeat piano melody and cheery synth sounds that aren't typical of whatever hiphop i've been exposed to (admittedly, not much.)
i do really like this track.
i didn't like one of the transitions though. when the piano goes silent, the snapping continues, and there's that sweeping synth, then a bit of snapping by itself, then the first dance part. it sounded a bit too segmented, and i think it might've sounded cooler if you had put that sweeping sound on top of the piano, then instantly hit with the fast part. all the other transitions were handled really well though, especially ones where you had sounds drop out, leaving (most times) that piano loop going.

a really good effort on this one, and it shows. very original, at times unexpected, and lovely on the whole. so great job.

Suspended-3rd-Chord responds:

thanks a lot for the detailed review, man. I appreciate it. glad you like the sounds used in this track, I was trying to go for a different hip hop feel.

now that you mention it, the sweeping part does seem a bit awkward without the piano loop in the background- kinda like something is missing. I think I'll add/experiment with a little bluesy riff in that part and see how it sounds.

thanks once again for the review man!

[Slim Alleyway]

alot different than what you'd normally hear..

..on newgrounds, or anywhere.
you've definitely got a unique sound here, even if it is a short track.
the main organ/synth/voice is interesting sounding, but it does sorta keep that same melody throughout the whole thing, which gets slightly annoying when i listen to it over and over again.
i really like the way you worked in different synth sounds throughout the whole thing that really worked well together and made for a very interesting loop.
speaking of loop, for such a short track its pretty vital for it to loop well, and this track didn't really loop well at all. i guess if you weren't going for a loopable thing, just a short experiment, that's fine. but it is much easier to listen to such a short piece if it loops, so yeah.

my favorite part of the whole thing, though, was the percussion. it was varied, interesting sounding, and it progressed from softer, organic stuff into hard hitting drums with lots of embellishment. so great job on that-it made this track, in my opinion.

overall, this is a very unique, interesting sounding thing. keep it up.

Suspended-3rd-Chord responds:

thanks once again for the review dude.

I definetly agree with the melody bit, it could have changed throughout the course of the loop to make the overall track loop better..I had more of a buildup going with the second phase of the track, but it sounded awkward and didn't connect well so I through it out.

thanks for the nice comments on the percussion, I tried different types of stuffs to give the track a little bit more variety.

once again, thanks for the insight and good score. appreciate the well written review man!

[Sneakin']

.umm...

wow, just see my comments on your other song, 'cos they pretty much apply here.

this again, is very, very familiar sounding, maybe even less unique than your other one. i actually do prefer the other one because it is a bit more interesting, even if it is an entirely different mood. this one also doesn't loop as well, which is a pretty bad thing for a track like this.

you do, of course, manage to get the moods exactly right in each track, which is more than most people can say. you're tracks are absolutely pleasant enough, and they are certainly not bad sounding at any points, which is again more than most people can say. its just that the nature of these loops means they are repetitive, and there isn't really enough, especially in this one, going on to make it that interesting to listen to over and over.
so you are obviously good at putting these things together, and i'd really like to see you try out a full song in maybe a different style instead of these videogamey loops. obviously, you don't have to, but i think you really have talent so it could make for a really good listen, if you attempted it.

if these things are your first two attempts at audio, that's even more impressive because these are way above most beginning work level. so keep it up, certainly.

Surukei responds:

I know, slightly delayed response but, I haven't been here on the site for a while.

Thanks for the detailed review, I really do appreciate it.

This particular track was actually one of my really earlier tracks. Definately not my FIRST first but, pretty early on.

[Happy Sidescroller [Loop]]

yeah.

you got it pretty perfectly with your description. sounds very...yoshi-ish? not sure, don't really play enough video games like that, but that's what it brings to mind. it is very well done, with enough different sounds to make it interesting but they still meld together well and create a pretty good loop. the drums sounded a bit generic in their composition, but it didn't really do anything to hurt the loop.
my only real issues are how short it is, because such a short loop gets annoying no matter how good it is and it didn't seem to loop quite perfectly, although i'm not sure if that a composition problem or what. it is a bit broken up, and you can tell where it ends and then starts again, because there is a moments pause and that's not generally a good sign.

so yeah, a very good loop, but the points i took off were mainly because of the length, and the fact that it was pretty easily placeable and not all that unique sounding.

still, you did a really good job, especially if you had only intended for a pretty familiar sounding, very short video game loop.

Surukei responds:

Haha, thanks! I thought it was just a fun sounding little loop I had made, so I decided to share it. It is very short, but I didn't really intend for it to be used it anything. Maybe sometime I'll actually make a full length track. XD

[The Pink Elephant FogHorn]

Glitchy, pretty cool.

First off, please turn down the asian-style percussion (that sounds reversed?) or at least vary it up more or compress it or something. Because of its level, its really tough to ignore which sucks because its pretty annoying.

Anyways, the main glitchy beat sounds really great and it well done. The main synth was pretty cool too, but with that asian-sounding percussion (for lack of a better term, of course )it sorta ruins it. And even worse, sometimes when some of the coolest stuff is going on around it synth-wise, its still really loud and even seems off beat. ouch.

This would be really awesome, except for one sound which is a key theme for the track and is almost constantly going in some variation. It gives it that "chineseish" feel, sure, but it also makes the other stuff almost unlistenable. Which really sucks because the other stuff is really cool and would make me want to listen to it more than twice, if it weren't for that one sound.

Of course, it might just be me, and I can't even really explain why I hate that one sound so much, and other people might like it. But to me, it really tarnishes what might have been a really, really cool song, as is shown by the few parts where that sound is absent. So its tough to grade this one--I certainly don't want to take off so many points for just one sound that is annoying and off-beat at one part, but I really don't want to listen to this song over and over again.

Still, good job. Just consider removing/reworking/remastering/releveling/whatever that one sound (and I really hope you know which one I've been talking about this whole time-the one that's alone at the very beginning, right before the cool percussion kicks it, and at one other point.) Anyways, if you get the time, please check out my newest song "Follow Me and You Will See" and leave a review. I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

Sylacone responds:

im not going to take out the Pole Hit because thats the main part of the song... it wouldnt be industrial without it. Thanks for being honest.

[linearcargo(early)]

This is pretty crazy...

yeah. this track is really pretty insane. there are very jazzy parts, they are tribal-ish parts, there are glitchy parts, and there even some rock-ish parts.
the really great thing about this is that each part is really, really good. and each of the parts fit together, even though there is that one awkward pause between two different moods (or at least i think so :/ ) because its such a nice, slow, groove-y thing going on the whole time.
in fact, my only complaint with the entire song is that there is no real ending... i understand that it certainly builds to a point, then sort of mellows out a bit for awhile, but the length of the mellow part really makes it seem like there would be a second, more glitchy chaotic ending. and there wasn't, and it was kinda dissapointing.

but really, with or without a loud ending this song is really, really good. so great job.

snoballandthmonyshot responds:

thanks for the review,
u noes i like to mix different styles and moods within a track, keeps me interested.
as for the ening, yeh, i really don't like the vocals on it for a start and it is indeed a work in progress, seem to have a lot of them recently, i hope i eventually get to finish em all.
ciao
;ped